JP3264785B2 - Automotive air conditioners - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air conditioner for a vehicle, and more particularly to a duct structure for sending conditioned air to a rear occupant of a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional air conditioner for a vehicle, a rear duct for a rear seat is, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, for sending wind (mainly cool wind) to an upper body of a seated occupant of a rear seat RS. The rear vent duct 3 and the rear foot duct 2 for sending wind (mainly warm air) to the feet are connected.

[0003] The rear vent duct 3 is arranged inside the floor console 4 located between the driver's seat DS and the passenger seat AS, and an outlet 31 is provided at a rear portion 41 of the floor console. The rear foot duct 2 is disposed on the floor panel 5 side, and has an outlet 21 projecting below the driver's seat DS and the passenger's seat AS.

[0004]

However, since the installation position of the outlet of the rear foot duct is on the floor panel side below the front seat, which is relatively far from the rear seat, the air to be blown is restricted to the rear. In some cases, it is not possible to effectively obtain a feeling of heating at the feet of the seated occupant in the rear seat because the carpet or the like is located above the floor panel between the outlet of the foot duct and the rear seat.

[0005] Further, since the rear foot duct is disposed on the floor panel side, the floor space of the front seat, particularly, the space under the seat of a seated occupant is limited, and the comfort is affected.

Further, since the rear foot duct has a complicated structure, the ventilation resistance of the air blown into the passenger compartment is large, and the manufacturing cost is high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and it is an object of the present invention to efficiently heat a foot of a seated occupant in a rear seat without affecting a floor space in a front seat. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air conditioner for an automobile having a simple duct structure as well as being able to perform the above.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is directed to a rear foot blower that has a rear end connected to a heater unit and a conditioned air blown at the front end to the feet of a rear seated occupant. In a vehicle air conditioner having a duct provided with an outlet, the duct extends on a floor panel along a front-rear direction of the car and is covered with a floor console. A ridge extending along the direction, wherein the rear foot outlet is
In the gap portion between the side wall of the raised portion of the side wall and the floor panel of the floor console is provided in a direction intersecting with the floor panel, the floor console
The side wall, the duct, and the floor panel
The automobile side air conditioner , wherein the side wall of the raised portion is fixed at the same time .

It is preferable that the duct has a rotatable door between the connection portion with the heater unit and the rear foot outlet.

Further, the duct has a branch portion between the connection portion with the heater unit and the rear foot outlet, and a rear vent outlet for blowing conditioned air in the direction of the upper body of a rear seated occupant. However, a duct is provided on a rear side wall of the floor console so as to extend from the branch portion.

[0011] It is preferable that the duct has a rotatable door between the connection portion with the heater unit and the branch portion.

It is preferable that the duct has a rotatable door between the rear foot outlet and the branch portion and between the rear vent outlet and the branch portion.

[0013]

The present invention configured as described above operates as follows for each configuration.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the conditioned air flows along the floor panel, the conditioned air reaches the occupant's feet without being obstructed by the front seat or the structure under the front seat. It is possible to efficiently heat the feet of the rear seated occupant without affecting the floor space of the front seat, and to simplify the duct structure, The manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the ventilation resistance of the conditioned air can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since independent air distribution to the rear seats is possible, when the rear seats are not used, that is, when there is no occupant, air is blown to the rear seats. By stopping, air conditioning of the front seat can be performed with a small air volume.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the rear vent duct is not required, the duct structure can be further simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In the configuration described in claim 4, since independent air distribution to the rear seats is possible, when the rear seats are not used, the air supply to the rear seats is stopped to reduce the air volume. Thus, air conditioning of the front seats becomes possible.

According to the configuration described in claim 5, highly accurate independent air distribution to the rear seats is possible.

[0019]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a vehicle air conditioner according to the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a method of fixing the duct, FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the automotive air conditioner according to the present invention, and FIG. Schematic cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of such an automotive air conditioner,
FIG. 6 is a schematic vertical sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the automotive air conditioner according to the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the automotive air conditioner according to the present invention is installed in an instrument panel at the front center of the vehicle compartment, and passes through an intake unit and a cooling unit (not shown). Heater unit 1 that heats part or all of the heated air to adjust the temperature
Is arranged linearly inside the floor console 4 and branches midway into a driver seat side D and a passenger seat side A.

At the end of the branch portion of the duct 2, a rear foot outlet 21a provided at the lower portion of the floor console rear portion 41, and a raised portion of the floor panel 5 extending along the lower portion of the floor console side wall 42 and the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Side wall 5
2 and a rear foot outlet 21b, 2
1c. Also, the rear foot outlet 21
a is installed in the direction parallel to the floor panel 5 toward the rear seat, the rear foot outlet 21b is installed in a vertical direction intersecting with the floor panel 5, and the rear foot outlet 21c
Is installed in a direction inclined to the rear seat side.

Therefore, since the duct 2 does not pass through the floor panel below the front seat, the floor space of the front seat,
In particular, it does not limit the space under the seated occupants,
In addition, since the rear foot outlet can be provided near the rear seat, the air to be blown is not obstructed by the carpet etc. located above the floor panel between the front seat and the rear seat, and the rear seat The space under the seated occupant can be efficiently heated.

The air-conditioned air flows along the shape of the floor panel 5 and can smoothly reach the feet of the rear seat. The air blown in different directions from the rear foot outlets 21a, 21b, 21c efficiently stirs the air layer in the space under the feet of the seated occupant in the rear seat to make the temperature uniform. In winter, the heat of the exhaust is transmitted to the duct 2 via the floor panel 5 to increase the temperature of the air passing through the duct 2. In the summer, the heat of the exhaust is transmitted to the floor console 4 in the duct 2. The heat efficiency is improved because the heat insulating effect prevents the heat.

On the other hand, since the duct 2 has a large number of straight portions, the structure is simple, so that the production cost can be reduced and the ventilation resistance of the conditioned air can be reduced.

It is desirable to make the shape of the outlet smaller than the diameter of the duct on the way from the viewpoint of increasing the blowing speed of the conditioned air.

In addition, unlike the above-mentioned embodiment, the outlet of the duct 2 is provided only at one place of the gap between the floor console side wall 42 and the raised side wall 52 of the floor panel 5 to provide a duct structure. It can be further simplified. In this case, the air outlet is desirably provided in a direction inclined toward the rear seat.

On the other hand, for fixing the floor console 4, the duct 2 and the floor panel 5, for example, as shown in FIG.
Through the through-hole 43 having a protrusion provided in the floor panel 5 and the through-hole 22 of the duct 2, the side wall 5 of the raised portion of the floor panel 5.
2 can be performed at the same time by inserting the screw holes 51 into the screw holes 51 provided.

Since the outer diameter of the projection of the through hole 43 of the floor console corresponds to the inner diameter of the through hole 22 of the duct 2, the fixing can be made firm.

Next, another embodiment of the automotive air conditioner according to the present invention will be described.

The vehicle air conditioner shown in FIG. 4 has a connection between the duct 2 and the heater unit 1 and the duct 2.
Control means, for example, a lever 24
A rotatable door 23 to which is connected is provided.

Therefore, when the rear seat is not used, the door 23 can be controlled by rotating the lever 24 to stop the air blowing through the duct 2, so that the air conditioning of the front seat can be performed with a small air volume. Becomes possible.

In another embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the duct 2 is provided with a rear vent outlet 71 a provided above the floor console rear portion 41, a lower portion of the floor console rear portion 41 and a raised portion of the floor panel 5. An outlet 71b provided in a gap with the side wall 52 of the portion is provided at the tip of the branch portion. The outlet 71b is installed in a direction inclined toward the rear seat.

Therefore, a dedicated rear vent duct is not required, and the duct structure can be further simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Unlike the above-described embodiment, when a plurality of rear foot outlets are provided, the directions of the outlets are not made uniform, for example, a direction parallel to the floor panel 5 toward the rear seat and an intersection with the floor panel 5. It is desirable to mix the vertical direction or the direction inclined toward the rear seat side so that the air layer in the space under the feet of the seated occupant in the rear seat can be efficiently stirred.

In the embodiment shown in FIG . 7 , a rear vent outlet is provided between a connection between the duct 2 and the heater unit 1 and a branch of the duct 2, and above the branch and the rear portion 41 of the floor console. 71a, and between a rear foot outlet 71b provided in a gap between the branch portion, the lower portion of the floor console side wall 42, and the side wall 52 of the raised portion of the floor panel 5, respectively. Doors 72, 73 and 74 and control means (not shown) are provided.

Accordingly, when the rear seat is not used, the door 72 can be turned to stop the air flow through the duct 2, so that the air conditioning of the front seat can be performed with a small air volume.

Further, since the doors 73 and 74 allow independent air distribution to the rear vent outlet 71a and the rear foot outlet 71b, the doors 73 and 74 are provided.
Control in conjunction with the rear vent outlet 7
Three types of air distribution are possible: air blowing (vent) mode using only 1a, air blowing (foot) mode using rear foot outlet 71b alone, and simultaneous air blowing (vent / foot) mode of rear vent outlet 71a and rear foot 71b. Thus, fine air distribution control can be performed for the rear seated occupant.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained by the structures described in the respective claims.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since conditioned air flows along the floor panel, the conditioned air reaches the occupant's feet without being obstructed by the front seat or the structure under the front seat. It is possible to efficiently heat the feet of the rear seated occupant without affecting the floor space of the front seat, and to simplify the duct structure, The manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the ventilation resistance of the conditioned air can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since independent air distribution to the rear seats is possible, when the rear seats are not used, that is, when there is no occupant, air is blown to the rear seats. By stopping, air conditioning of the front seat can be performed with a small air volume.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the rear vent duct is not required, the duct structure can be further simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In the configuration according to the fourth aspect, since independent air distribution to the rear seats is possible, when the rear seats are not used, the ventilation to the rear seats is stopped to reduce the air volume. Thus, air conditioning of the front seats becomes possible.

According to the configuration described in claim 5, highly accurate independent air distribution to the rear seats is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an automotive air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a method for fixing a duct.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the automotive air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the automotive air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the automotive air conditioner according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a rear vent duct and a rear foot duct of a conventional automotive air conditioner.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Heater unit, 2 ... Rear foot duct, 3 ... Rear vent duct, 5 ... Floor panel, 21, 21a, 21b, 21c, 71b ... Rear foot outlet, 23, 72, 73, 74 ... Door, 31, 71a ... Rear vent outlet, 42: Side wall of floor console, 52: Side wall of raised part of floor panel, A: Passenger side, D: Driver side.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-139418 (JP, A) JP-A-55-51615 (JP, A) JP-A-61-137010 (JP, U) JP-A-1-137,010 175912 (JP, U) Fully open 1987-189910 (JP, U) Fully open 1984-11014 (JP, U) Fully open 57-46007 (JP, U) Fully open 1987-110012 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60H 1/00 B60H 1/32 B60H 1/22

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] An automobile having a rear end connected to a heater unit (1) and a rear end provided with a rear foot outlet for blowing conditioned air to the foot of a rear seated occupant at the front end. In the air conditioner for use, the duct (2) extends on the floor panel (5) along the front-rear direction of the car and is covered with a floor console (4). A rear portion extending along the front-rear direction of the vehicle, wherein the rear foot outlet is connected to the floor console (4);
A gap between a side wall (42) of the floor panel (5) and a side wall (52) of the raised portion of the floor panel (5);
It provided in a direction intersecting with the side walls of the floor console (4) and (42), before
The duct (2) and the elevation of the floor panel (5)
The air conditioner for a vehicle , wherein the side wall (52) of the section is fixed at the same time . 2. The duct (2) has a rotatable door (23) between a connection portion with the heater unit (1) and the rear foot outlet. The vehicle air conditioner according to claim 1. 3. The duct (2) has a branch portion between a connection portion with the heater unit (1) and the rear foot outlet, and the conditioned air flows in the direction of the upper body of a rear seated occupant. 2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein a rear vent outlet for blowing air is provided on a rear side wall (41) of the floor console (4) so as to extend a duct from the branch portion. 3. apparatus. 4. The duct (2) has a rotatable door (72) between a connection part with the heater unit (1) and the branch part. Item 4. An automotive air conditioner according to item 3. 5. The duct (2) has pivotable doors (73, 74) between the rear foot outlet and the branch and between the rear vent outlet and the branch. The air conditioner for a vehicle according to claim 4, wherein: